China

Mission to the Roof of the World

Asya Chorley describes the relationship between China, Britain and Tibet in the early twentieth century, and shares the unique experiences of the first European women to be invited to Lhasa by the XIII Dalai Lama.

Silk Ties: The Links Between Ancient Rome & China

China and Rome were the two great economic superpowers of the Ancient World. Yet their empires were separated by thousands of miles of inhospitable terrain, dramatically reducing the opportunities for direct communication. Raoul McLaughlin investigates.

My Fascination With China

Author and journalist Jonathan Fenby explains what started him on an endless journey of exploration into China’s past.

China’s First Empire

Michael Loewe looks at the dynastic, administrative and intellectual background of the Qin empire, which defined how China would be run for more than 2,000 years, and at the life and achievements of the First Emperor Shi Huangdi, one of the greatest state-builders of history, whose tomb was guarded by the famous terracotta army.

Tiananmen Square

Neil Taylor looks for traces of history visible and invisible in the great square at the heart of Beijing.

Remembering the Forgotten War

Looking back on the sixtieth anniversary of the surrender of Japan, Rana Mitter finds the political background to the demonstrations in China against Japanese history textbooks are full of complexities.

The Last Warlord

Rana Mitter recalls the career of a man who once ruled an area larger than France and Germany, but who spent forty years in Chiang Kai-shek’s gaols.